Interior design: Nina Campbell's guide to decorating your hallway

Hallways: how to make a grand entrance with vibrant colours, mirrors and
lighting.

Best in show: bold pictures can make a dramatic visual statement and add interest to dark hallways

By Nina Campbell

12:15PM BST 19 May 2010

The hallway sets the tone of the house and deserves to be considered as a space in its own right. In the 18th century, it was considered appropriate to make hallways as restful and tranquil as possible.

The hallway would soothe arriving travellers after their hellish journeys, hence the traditional cool restraint of black and white floor tiles. Yet there is always a case to be made for a bold, dramatic welcome. The entrance hall is where you can stamp your personality or reflect the history of the house with a flourish. It is a well-used room, people walk through it every hour of the day, but nobody spends much time there, so you can afford to be daring.

The important thing is to decide where (and what) the point of impact should be. Either you should make a statement with strong colour in a contained area, or perhaps use a lacquer finish for something more textured.

Place mirrors along one wall to widen the space. A mirrored wall with a mounted half lantern or wall light, with a vibrant colour on the facing wall, adds richness and light as well as a sense of space.

When decorating an entrance hall, you have to remember that it has other rooms leading off it, so you need a colour that will go with many others.

In a narrow hall, you will need a console table or a ledge, as you have to have somewhere to put your letters. A console table can make a dramatic statement as well as being practical.

One fundamental rule is that you should always try to keep the entrance hall as clear as possible. Try to find a cupboard or somewhere to hang your guests' coats that is not immediately by the front door, as that can look a complete mess. I prefer to have a coat cupboard, as you can hide all manner of sins behind the closed doors. But if you prefer hooks, look out for beautiful Victorian brass or china hooks at antique fairs and mount them on a board on the wall.

The other advantage to having a cupboard is that it relieves your own hanging space. You can store all your heavy coats there and it makes the process of leaving and arriving home much quicker. My hall cupboard has been completely taken over by the dogs and their paraphernalia.

If your entrance hall follows straight into your living space, you should create some sort of junction between the two – in my home, I have placed a bookcase between the two to divide the areas. It helps generate a sense of arrival, instead of just passing through on your way to somewhere else.

Always think about flooring. If you havewooden floorsor carpeting, a doormat at the entrance not only helps distinguish the space, but it also helps preserve the floor or carpet underneath. You should change your doormat every two to three years, which in itself shows you how much wear your floors get and how necessary a doormat is.

Explore different floor options for your entrance, think about wood or stone and don't just opt for carpeting, which is harder to keep clean. You could also cover your hallway with a hard floor then carpet the staircase from the bottom step. This makes everything much easier to keep clean. Carpet will work better in an entrance hall apartment, as by the time you get there you have already got rid of the dust from your shoes.

Good lighting is also crucial in an entrance hall. Install your lighting on two levels, as this makes for a more adaptable space. A picture or wall light gives more glamorous light when guests leave in the evening, while a ceiling light provides more concentrated light for the daytime. Think of your hall as a separate space from the staircase and light it from above rather than below.

Hallways make great spaces for hanging pictures. If you collect art or prints, then hanging pictures in an entrance hall shows off your collection in a way you (and your guests) can enjoy. It's also important to incorporate what you already have in any scheme, but you do need to have an element of discipline when grouping together close-hanging pictures.